The New Nails: Welcome Matte

The fall collections were all about texture—be it a pair of satin sari trousers at Balenciaga, a grosgrain puff sleeve at Louis Vuitton, or a bright silk-velvet dévoré dress at Proenza Schouler. So it’s little surprise that nails are also following suit, turning up in cool matte polish shades that offer a refreshing new alternative to the usual high-gloss finish.

“It’s a stripped-down kind of perfection,” says backstage manicurist Nonie Crème, who painted models’ fingertips in Butter London’s Yummy Mummy—the most universally flattering shade of opaque “mushroomy” taupe—before taking down their luster with a coat of sheer matte Nail Foundation (butterlondon.com) at the recent Alexander Wang show.

With their punk-chic overtones, shine-free nails are also a favorite of Manhattan makeup artist Mike Potter, who has been painting the statement-making fingertips of Yeah Yeah Yeahs front woman Karen O with matte ebony nail lacquer for years. Having failed to find a particular polish line that lived up to his exacting standards, Potter recently created his own: The appropriately named Knockout Cosmetics (koknockout.com) features seven chip-resistant, shineproof nail colors—like Karen (the saucy fire-engine red is a nod to the singer’s trademark lip color) and Calamine (a milky pink that recalls the beloved childhood anti-itch lotion of the same name).

In the hopes of luring shine-loyalists to the “flatte” side, OPI artistic director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann has even whipped up six of the beauty brand’s best selling lacquers—from Russian Navy (the inkiest shade of indigo blue) to Alpine Snow (a crisp, Twiggy-worthy 1960s white)—in resolutely matte finishes, due out in July. Take note: Their punchy hot-pink (and utterly gloss-free) La Paz-itively Hot polish may be the summer’s most intriguing new pedicure shade.

PHOTO GALLERY

OPI Matte polishes in Alpine Snow, La Paz-itively Hot, and Lincoln Park After Dark.

Referrence Vogue Magazine